Tram drivers announce New Year's Eve strikes in Greater Manchester
Members of the Unite union will also walk out on the 19th and 20th in a row over working hours
Last updated 2nd Dec 2025
Tram users are facing chaos in the run up to Christmas and on New Year's Eve, as drivers announce a fresh round of strikes.
Members of the Unite union, who are set to walkout this weekend, have announced a fresh round of industrial action for the 19th, 20th and 31st of December.
It means Christmas shoppers will be impacted just days before the 25th December, while people going out on New Year's Eve will also face travel delays.
Other events that will be affected by this additional industrial action include Manchester City v West Ham at the Etihad Stadium and Doves and Jools Holland concerts.
Unite said the dispute is "over driver fatigue and fears that their shift patterns and lack of rest breaks is putting them and passengers at risk."
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Driver fatigue is a serious problem. Our members are raising serious concerns about their and their passengers' safety Metrolink management is burying its head in the sand.
“Management must sort this problem out once and for all. It can’t try to fob drivers off by putting profits before safety.”
One driver said: "Fatigue isn't just tiredness, my colleagues are tired but the fatigue is also giving them cold-like symptoms and many have been going off sick with stress, which adds to problems with staffing levels.
“Drivers are saying not a question of if an accident will occur but when.
"At the moment we have the Christmas markets on in Manchester which means there's a lot more pedestrians around and we also drive alongside road traffic as well.
"You need to be constantly on the ball when driving a tram and being fatigued lessens the chance of being able to do that."
Two of the strike dates, 19 and 20 December, also coincide with industrial action by 200 Unite members working for Transport for Greater Manchester on the Bee bus network.
Danny Vaughan, Chief Network Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “This negotiation is about working patterns, not pay.
"Since we were informed of the outcome of the tram drivers’ ballot, we’ve been working directly with drivers, Unite and the operator Keolis Amey Metrolink to explore the rosters in detail and come up with practical solutions that address the union’s concerns.
"We’ve been doing this constructively to try and avoid strikes and will continue to do so.”